Kitchen Tasting Group Does Beaver Creek – Day One
Tasted Friday, September 21, 2007 by Dave Dalluge with 1,207 views
Introduction
Six members of the Kitchen Tasting Group journeyed to Brad England’s home in the hills above Beaver Creek for a weekend of food, wine, and conversation. Traveling from Minneapolis were Brad England, Chris Palm, Jeff Samuelson, Chris Larson, Paul ?, and myself. Sadly, Steve Sigmond couldn’t make it. Joining us from Colorado were Rico Thompson, Paul David, and Mitch Hirsch.
Flight 1 - Cellar Organization/Cooking (5 Notes)
When we arrived at Brad’s spectacular estate we were greeted by a mountain of boxes from Premier Cru and other wine sites. The catalyst for the weekend was this mountain of boxes. Brad and Chris Palm had planned to spend the weekend organizing the cellar and ensuring that CellarTracker was updated accordingly. Once the weekend was set, Brad extended the invitation to the entire group. After surveying Brad’s lovely home we began hauling boxes to the wine cellar and integrating the new arrivals into Brad’s impressive cellar. A large table was brought into the cellar and an Ethernet cable was utilized to access CellarTracker. Brad sat at the imposing desk running the project like a general on the battlefield – keeping each flank of this battle organized and efficient. The atmosphere was like Christmas morning as box after box was opened to reveal one wine treasure after another. Shortly after this project began there was a call for glasses and decanters, and wines were opened. Eventually I went upstairs to begin preparing appetizers with Paul David. Soon the party moved upstairs to the kitchen where a proper wine tasting belongs.
Flight 2 - Appetizers (2 Notes)
Paul David prepared an excellent smoked salmon spread with red onions and capers served on crackers that disappeared almost immediately. It was an excellent pairing with the champagne. There was a call for more food, so I delivered a tray of garlic crustini with broiled pancetta and tapenade. I had imagined this being served with the Barolo flight, but this crew was hungry. As described below, the Madiera was served after the champagne when the kitchen crew got caught sampling to ensure it was a good bottle (it was).
Flight 3 - Barolo (5 Notes)
We moved inside to the dining room for a flight of Barolo – five beauties. Sadly there was no food for this course and the wines really needed something. Eventually Brad (our executive chef on this night) took action and got a meat plate (prepared by Rico) to pass. This seemed to help the wines but a proper course would have been much better.
Flight 4 - Bordeaux (4 Notes)
The next flight featured four bottles of 1985 Bordeaux. Again, we had no food for this course as the steak and pasta were planned for the Unico flight. Brad took a poll and it was decided to serve the pasta alone with the Bordeaux. I dutifully went to the kitchen to begin the preparations but Paul David caught me in the kitchen and looked at me like I was crazy. We decided to prepare a salad instead. Paul pulled a large container of mixed greens from the refrigerator. These were divided among nine plates. We added everything we could find to the salad (including chopped herbs, onion, tomato, olives) and then topped it with olive oil that had been used to sauté some garlic. Not a masterpiece but certainly edible.
Flight 5 - Unico (5 Notes)
Chris Palm cooked the steaks (perfectly) and I prepared the pasta. The water had been boiling before the Barolo flight, but was shut off to avoid evaporating all the water. However, when turned back on it took forever to come back to a boil at an elevation of 9000 feet. It also took forever to cook the pasta. The steaks were done and had been resting under foil for about 10 minutes when Brad made the executive decision to serve the pasta regardless of whether or not it was done (after all, the food is secondary to the wine). He pulled the pasta off the stove and got it drained. The steaks were New York Strip with a rosemary and thyme rub. The pasta was served in a simple gorgonzola cream sauce. Both were excellent.
Flight 6 - Fire Pit (1 Note)
After dinner we all moved to Brad’s fire pit for more wine, awesome music, and great Cuban cigars (Romeo and Juliette Churchills!!!). The plan was for madiera and port. Somehow I must have innocently mentioned my affinity for Cheval Blanc, because somewhere along the way a bottle of the 1966 appeared. I skipped the port and savored this divine bottle of Cheval Blanc (a better example than one I had had previously). Others will have to fill in the notes on the Madiera and the port. Once the group was settled I returned to the kitchen to whip up a batch of Chocolate Bouchons. I was pretty well hammered while preparing these, so they weren’t the prettiest ones I’ve ever made, but they went fast.
Closing
In deference to Jeff’s wishes I’ll dodge naming a WOTN and just say that this was a very special night with many very special wines. Did I mention how much I liked the Cheval Blanc???
1997 Podere Rocche dei Manzoni Langhe Quatr Nas
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Dark red color turning lighter/watery at the rim. The nose gives a straightforward and powerful blend of tar, dark fruit, and rose petal. Very nice. On the palate this is tight and compact. Flavors dominated by dark fruit build to a strong mid-palate and a very nice finish. Still extremely tannic. A very nice wine and an excellent way to kick off the weekend.
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1997 Castello dei Rampolla Sammarco Toscana IGT
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
Opaque red color. The nose is dominated by brett. Too much even for this brett-tolerant taster. The taste gave concentrated red fruit that was good but not great. Still very tannic.
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1970 Château Lynch-Bages
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Popped and poured. Now we're talking. This is an amazingly deep red/garnet color with no real signs of age. The nose is extremely intense and complex with a lovely blend of dark fruit, tobacco, earth, and a fascinating element that I'll call dried flowers. Remarkable. On the palate this is concentrated and expansive -- complex dark fruit flavors are everywhere. At first I wrote seductive and assertive, but with air it seemed to become a bit more rustic/chunky. The finish was long and satisfying. This was a spectacular showing for this wine. Thanks Brad.
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1993 Louis Jadot Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
I had a small pour of this while preparing dinner -- so not much of a note. The nose gives an understated blend of red cherry, earth and mushroom. The taste gives a lovely sour red cherry. Medium weight. Good balance. Nice length. Didn't really stand out as special to me, but still a very nice bottle of wine.
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2003 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
From magnum. Popped and poured. I had one glass while I was cooking, so notes are sketchy. The nose is big, giving mainly spicy red fruit. The taste is equally big giving a whallop of primary red fruit with a bit of spice. This is gushing with so much fruit that structure is undetectable. I enjoyed this despite its youthfullness and will be very interested to see how this develops over the years. Certainly not worth the going price, though, for my taste.
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